


morning fog

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Drabble, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27633172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A shared morning in Fhirdiad, Claude wakes up before Dimitri.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 14
Kudos: 73





	morning fog

It is not the first time Claude wakes up next to Dimitri.

He is getting used to the other’s sleeping habits, to the toss and turn that would’ve taken sleep away from anyone else, but Claude does not sleep much at night to begin with. He waits until dawn to let any form of rest take him, makes himself busy with anything that is bound to chase away thoughts that would keep him up. He prefers productivity when peace eludes him.

Dimitri is more of the opposite. The pillow lulls him to a comforting sleep that changes into worrisome sleep talk and shuffling, things he will never say during waking hours but they both know are harbored in his heart. Claude reaches out to run a hand through Dimitri’s hair, leaves his touch lingering on Dimitri’s forehead to let him know he is not alone, whether he is awake or asleep. Most mornings, it is Dimitri who wakes up first and drags Claude into a suffocating embrace until the sun becomes too bright to ignore; Claude never finds reason to complain about it.

He feels safe, basked in the glory of company, of another body for warmth, of greetings dipped in love. Selfishly, perhaps, he holds onto a hope that his caresses and presence make Dimitri’s nightmares much more kind. He has learned patience during all these years of his life, he thinks, but for some things he still feels like a teenager stuck in doubt and confusion, in anxious waiting. Giving a name to this, to _them_ , leaves a lump in his throat. Does he have to? Diplomats insist he does, that if he is going to be visiting the King of Faerghus like this each month something should come out of it.

In the past, Claude would have probably been the one to think of it. A nice political marriage, for Almyra’s sake, for the sake of seeing his dreams come true. It is still an idea brewing in a corner of his mind, a conflicting thought between the Claude he has trained himself to be and the Claude lying down at Dimitri’s side. The Claude that has overcome old fears only to gain new ones of the kind he adamantly ignored in his youth. _Feelings make things complicated,_ and so Hilda is right at times, her voice giving his thoughts a friendly yet unwelcome tickle.

Claude is not there for Almyra. From the start, the purpose for his visits was to regain a sense of normalcy after all the losses of war. He is there for himself, for Dimitri, for the nameless bond that is currently entangling them closer to each other. He wonders, as he presses closer into Dimitri and steals some more of the thick blanket if he should feel guilty for it.

Dimitri stirs in his slumber, turns around to face Claude and let his arms wrap around Claude’s waist in a natural, practiced gesture. Nothing about his breathing gives away that he might have woken up — his eyebrows are furrowed into a strained expression, his nose is scrunched most likely from the wave of cold air that hit him. Bunching up makes it easier for both of them to fit under the blanket, even if Claude is now trapped in a vice grip. 

He might fall back asleep like this.

Warm breath hits his cheek. The sun is not entirely out yet, though some rays dare to peek through the heavy curtains pulled over the windows of Dimitri’s room; the same pleasant light blue color as the bed sheets. The curtains make sunlight more bearable, since it rarely brings any warmth with it given the cold Fhirdiad winter has long since set in. Eventually, Dimitri will wake up, and they will have to get out of bed out into the chill of the day. With enough luck he could convince Dimitri they deserve a lazy day in bed.

Claude settles in a position that lets him breathe with more ease without disturbing Dimitri, closes his eyes, and allows for the rhythmic hum of another heartbeat to bring some silence into his mind. Perhaps he does have a word for it all, one that is nobody’s business but his own and Dimitri’s; perhaps he will be unafraid to tell Dimitri those words, to let him take that unavoidable hold onto Claude’s entire being. 

Feelings do make things complicated, but Claude is willing to believe it might turn up to be all worth it. 

That one day he will say, with no mask or uncertainty, _I love you_.


End file.
